Kosovo opposition releases tear gas in parliament

When the session was restarted in another room minus most of the opposition party members, another was let off – causing the session to be halted once more. The speaker of the Parliament, made a decision to interrupt the sitting, by asking an urgent meeting of the heads of the parliamentary groups.

One of the MPs who released the gas, Glauk Konjufca, said it was “a collective action by the opposition”.

After what happened in the Parliament, Mustafa and Thaci met with President Atifete Jahjaga, to discuss the current situation.

Police have detained several opposition MPs in recent weeks over the tear gas episodes.

Opposition MPs disrupted the Kosovo parliament again by setting off tear gas – the latest in a series of violent incidents sparked by anger at agreements with Serbia and Montenegro.

Kosovo’s opposition released tear gas in the country’s assembly again on Monday in protest against Brussels-brokered agreement with Serbia and the government’s agreement with Montenegro.

Police in Pristina dispersed supporters of the opposition MPs who were throwing stones and paint outside the parliament building. There were no reports of any injuries.

One of the deals gives more powers to ethnic Serbs in Kosovo while the other demarcates the border with Montenegro.

Clashes continued in other streets in the capital where at least one protester was arrested.

The opposition has been trying to block these discussions from Kosovo’s parliament for months, having previously employed tear gas, pepper spray, water bottles and eggs to create disruptions.

The EU has called for dialogue, saying that disruptions of parliament with tear gas are “neither acceptable nor will it solve any problem for the citizens of Kosovo”.

The deal on Serb minority rights is suspended until Kosovo’s constitutional court rules on its legality.

Kosovo signed a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, which the opposition say would lead to Kosovo’s loss of territory.